---
title: What would happen if a deer walked into a tar pit at La Brea? — Mammoths and the Ice Age giants: sabre… · tree and pragmatics
description: What would happen if a deer walked into a tar pit at La Brea? Test 4 of lesson 272 «Mammoths and the Ice Age giants: sabre-tooths, ground sloths and woolly rhinos» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's choic
---

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# Test 4 · Mammoths and the Ice Age giants: sabre-tooths, ground slot…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
What would happen if a deer walked into a tar pit at La Brea?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 4 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** deer · **What happens:** happen, walk · **To what, where:** tar pit

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 4 of lesson 272 «Mammoths and the Ice Age giants: sabre-tooths, ground sloths and woolly rhinos» of the biology course of Mova's primary school. The page gives the question's syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause, then the 4 options as the student saw them, each with its tree and pragmatics. Every text is parsed by Mova itself. How the student answered it, with the score of every option and why: [the test at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/272-mammoths-and-the-ice-age-giants/#t4).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:272-mammoths-and-the-ice-age-giants:t4:1
# text = What would happen if a deer walked into a tar pit at La Brea?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	3	nsubj	_	_
2	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	happen	happen	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	deer	deer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	walked	walk	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
8	into	into	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	tar	tar	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	compound	_	_
11	pit	pit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
12	at	at	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	La	La	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	_
14	Brea	Brea	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	13	flat	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **happen** | would |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **walk** *a condition, not said to happen* | past | a deer |  |  |  |  | into a tar pit at La *result* | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V PP.result»: agent=Theme into pit=Result |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It would float on top of the tar and simply walk out the other side

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:272-mammoths-and-the-ice-age-giants:t4:o1:1
# text = It would float on top of the tar and simply walk out the other side
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	float	float	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	on	on	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	top	top	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	tar	tar	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
10	simply	simply	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
11	walk	walk	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	conj	_	_
12	out	out	ADP	RP	_	11	compound:prt	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
14	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	side	side	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl:unmarked	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **float** | would | It |  |  | top of the tar |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on top=Trajectory |
| 2 | **walk out** | infinitive |  | the other side |  |  |  | simply *property* | vn resign-10.11 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The tar would wash it clean and it would run off shining

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:272-mammoths-and-the-ice-age-giants:t4:o2:1
# text = The tar would wash it clean and it would run off shining
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	tar	tar	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	wash	wash	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	obj	_	_
6	clean	clean	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	xcomp	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
8	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
9	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
10	run	run	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	conj	_	_
11	off	off	ADP	RP	_	10	compound:prt	_	_
12	shining	shining	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wash** | would | the tar | it |  |  |  | clean *property* | vn floss-41.2.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Patient |
| 2 | **run off** | would | tar | shining |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Initial\_Location shining=Theme |

### Option 3 · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It would get stuck, and hunters coming for it might get stuck too

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:272-mammoths-and-the-ice-age-giants:t4:o3:1
# text = It would get stuck, and hunters coming for it might get stuck too
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	get	get	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	stuck	stuck	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
7	hunters	hunter	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	nsubj	_	_
8	coming	come	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	acl	_	_
9	for	for	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	obl	_	_
11	might	might	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	12	aux	_	_
12	get	get	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	conj	_	_
13	stuck	stuck	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	xcomp	_	_
14	too	too	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **get** | would | It |  |  |  |  | stuck *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **come** | gerund | hunters *not said here* |  |  |  |  | for it | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **get** | might | hunters |  |  |  |  | stuck *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer |

### Option 4 · ← Mova's choice {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It would turn into stone at once and stand there like a statue

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:272-mammoths-and-the-ice-age-giants:t4:o4:1
# text = It would turn into stone at once and stand there like a statue
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	turn	turn	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	into	into	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	stone	stone	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
6	at	at	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	once	once	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Mult	3	obl	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	stand	stand	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	conj	_	_
10	there	there	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	9	advmod	_	_
11	like	like	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	statue	statue	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **turn** | would | It |  |  | stone |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V PP.source PP.trajectory PP.destination»: agent=Theme into stone=Source at once=Trajectory |
| 2 | **stand** | infinitive |  |  |  | there |  | like a statue | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

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**Text:** the tests of Mova's primary school, written for Mova (`world/data/school/`), as the course runner gave them to the student. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each text read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

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